Clarity in communicating what a product does is crucial when product and category are unique. Consider aquaICE, Dublin, OH. The company took a fresh look at its premium ice cubes in the shelf-stable form of purified water filled into sealed trays and boxed for sale. At home, consumers freeze the trays as needed and place the cubes directly in beverages.
More than a year after the aquaICE brand’s limited introduction in Ohio and Canada, the primary and secondary packaging have been reinvented for 2007. Working with Artemis Creative, aquaICE made the following changes:
- The carton was changed from corrugated to paperboard, from Pratt Industries, and a die-cut, film-covered window was added.
- The carton and tray sealing film were upgraded with new graphics.
- The 10-count tray’s individual cell size was modified to accept a larger cube size.
- Carton count was changed from 10 to five trays to reduce the price point from $9.99 to $4.99.
“What we have accomplished in recent months has been an extraordinary effort in developing a more retail-friendly package design,” says Michael Schall, aquaICE President and CEO.
AquaICE realized that windowed cartons showing the trays are more effective than graphics explaining them. “Consumers would see the trays and then say, ‘Oh, now we get it!’ ” adds Peter Moenickheim, Chairman.
“And once the trays are boxed, it becomes even more challenging to get the message across,” he says. “The enclosed box was not communicating effectively this new product or this new category.”
Artemis’ design includes a die-cut window wrapping from the top of the carton to the front to add a dimensional aspect to the trays. The solid bleached sulphate carton is offset-printed in four colors plus an aqueous coating, before the window is die cut, to intensify the graphic effect. The graphics communicate that the product is purified water conveniently sealed in trays.
The company says the redesign may appear straightforward, but it culminates a complex effort in which aquaICE assessed a dozen different window variations. Explains COO George Varney: “You think something is simple, but then when you get into it and through consumer tests, it’s not as easy as you’d think.”
